Recipes

The following recipes are taken from the “New Zealand Chili Pepper Handbook”, by Garry P. Sommerville, published by David Bateman in Auckland NZ in 2008. Full colour photos and 80 pages of everything anyone could want to know about peppers in New Zealand.

THELMA JUNE'S LAUCALA BAY BEEF CURRY
This is the revised recipe that was included in the New Zealand Chili Handbook.

When I first went flatting at 17, I moved out with all my belongings packed into a Series E Morris 8, and an envelope with my mother's recipe for beef curry (originally from Fiji) written on the back. It works with both lamb and hogget, and is especially good (and considerably more authentically Fijian Indian) with goat meat.
Heat scale: HOT

• 1kg stewing or blade steak
• 50g butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4Tbs curry powder
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2Tbs tomato paste
• 3Tbs sweet chutney
• 4 Cups beef stock
• 3 fresh hot chili peppers, finely chopped
• 4 bay leaves
• Fresh coriander to garnish

Remove any excess fat or gristle from the steak and cut into 5cm cubes.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion and garlic until the onion is clear. Add the curry powder and cook until you smell the lovely rich aroma.
Add the meat and brown over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the stock, lemon juice, tomato paste, chutney, chopped fresh chili and bay leaves and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Remove the bay leaves, garnish with coriander and serve over cooked white rice.
Serves 4-6

SASSY POTATO SALAD